Risers are used in subsea applications to provide a conduit for oil to be extracted from under the sea bed to floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSO) or similar. The risers comprise a number of pipe sections that are joined together so that the oil can be conveyed safely to the surface of deep water. Due to movement of the vessel on the surface of the water, the risers are often subjected to external forces that cause the risers to flex and kink thereby resulting in damage to the risers. To reduce the likelihood of damage, bend stiffeners comprising a polyurethane conical shaped moulding are used to limit bending of the risers and protect the riser minimum bend radius.
Bend stiffeners are typically coupled to a FPSO vessel using a male and female connector. One of the connectors is usually attached to the vessel and the other connector is usually attached to the bend stiffener. The bend stiffener and corresponding connector are coupled to the connector on the vessel to lock the two together and hold the bend stiffener firmly in place. The riser can then be safely attached to the vessel through the bend stiffener so that oil can be extracted from the oil field in question.
When it is desired to separate the riser from the vessel, the male and female connectors may typically be urged apart using hydraulic rams, release or riser clamps. Such methods of separation can be prone to failure and require physical intervention by divers which is undesirable especially in potentially hazardous conditions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a more convenient and reliable way to separate male and female connectors.